Death Stranding live-action film to “tell a story you haven’t seen in that world,” says director

A24’s Death Stranding live-action film will tell “another story that you’ve never seen in this same universe,” according to its director, Michael Sarnoski.

During Kojima Productions’ Beyond the Strand 10th anniversary stream on September 23, 2025, Sarnoski joined Kojima and A24’s co-head Sam Hanson on stage to discuss his work on the film.

“Initially, when I came onto this project, it was a huge honour,” said Sarnoski, who also directed A Quiet Place: Day One. “I was terrified by the idea of taking something this big on, especially after [A] Quiet Place, which was a really big endeavour.

“But it was after meeting Kojima-san and talking to A24 that I realised how much freedom they were willing to give me on this project.”

Sarnoski also revealed that the live-action Death Stranding film adaptation will tell an original story, set in the same universe as the games.

Sarnoski said: “With this project, we really want to capture the soul of the game, capture the themes of the game, but tell a story you haven’t seen in that world, and explore characters you haven’t seen before, and find all of that scope and all of those incredible real locations, but also find all of those nuanced characters and just do justice to this on a macro and micro scale.”

“We’re trying to find something, another story that you’ve never seen in this same universe that is both accessible to people that have never played the games before, but will also give something to people that know the games really well,” he continued.

“And so, I think finding that balance and finding a way to tell a really human story in this world that captures everything we love about it as well as being able to stand on its own two feet is really the goal.”

Adding to this, Kojima explained that, due to Death Stranding taking “about 70, 80 hours” to complete, they didn’t want to “slim that down to a two-hour movie.”

“So, using that world, but a totally different story of Death Stranding the movie is essential and important,” Kojima said. “That’s why I wanted someone who could write and direct, and I’m not going to get involved too much because if I do, I’m going to start saying a lot of things. I’ll be like a producer, and I could trust Michael fully.”

In addition to the update on the live-action Death Stranding film, Kojima shared a first look at the animated Death Stranding movie, which now has the working title of Death Stranding: Mosquito.

While we already knew screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski was attached to write the film, during the event, Kojima announced that ABC Animation Studio’s Hiroshi Miyamoto is the animation director.

According to Miyamoto, the current working title is a hint at the film’s main character and their ability, as they have the ability to “suck something” that’s not blood.

During the 10th anniversary event, Kojima Productions also announced that it is working on an AR project with Niantic Spatial, revealed a new teaser trailer for OD (which now has the subtitle ‘Knock’), and revealed poster art and cast members for its upcoming stealth game Physint.